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Sunday, August 02, 2015

A Tale of Doing Less

Once upon a time, I would agree to do things for people. Some of it was paid. Some of it was a favor. I found myself stressed out and working into the wee hours of the night. In order to chill out, I would engage in escape behaviors, such as avoiding work or drinking beer later in the night than recommended.

Then one day, a big goal came into my life. It was huge and gnarly. This giant goal made me realize that I would need to be very focused and determined to overcome it. Even if I was inclined to want to help others, I could not afford to spend time distractions lest the big goal get out of hand.

I started to politely decline requests for help that took away from meeting my objectives. If the request was along my path, I could help. Otherwise, I would only disappoint the requestor.

I am still on my quest.

I can't help thinking that if I had the big goal earlier in my life, I would have figured out my life's priorities much sooner. I would have either avoided wasting so much time or would have crumbled under the responsibility. Today, however, having an end game in mind makes decisions simpler, cleaner.

But, even if I had not a major challenge ahead of me, I can't help thinking that perhaps doing less, I would have been more effective at the few things that I chose to do. That may be a question for another lifetime.

For now, I have a path laid out before me. I welcome fellow travelers; but, I cannot afford to veer off the path.